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Chapter 304 part 2

In the Arkrest Kingdom, where many races coexist, there is no territory where an army is composed of a single race.

Even the small Berne army, which is one of the smallest in number, stands out in the confederation of lords for the diversity of races among its soldiers.

Furthermore, the numerous pieces of equipment uniquely modified by geniuses and prodigies recruited from all over hindered their ability to keep pace with other armies.

When the Berne side actually joined the lords’ forces, they were, as expected, disappointed that it was difficult to keep in step, and the lords’ side honestly felt their army was distorted or haphazard.

The Berne army decided to separate itself from the confederation and take on the role of a small, agile ranger force, as expected by the Berne side.

A rough strategy was formed where the large pawn of the confederation would confront the Demon King’s Army, while the Berne army would attack the Demon King’s Army from the rear, flank, or even further rear bases, depending on the situation.

However, this strategy was overturned by another development anticipated by the Berne side. The confederation had been informed, but they could not believe that the Demon King’s Army would ignore them and pursue the Berne army.

Christina was staying at Jogan Fortress, but Vengitta, after the previous battle with Diadora and the Berne army, deemed the few hundred Bernese troops, far more extraordinary than the ordinary tens of thousands, extremely dangerous.

Vengitta, as one of the six demon generals, greatly valued the danger of Berne. Quince, who maintained a calm mind and perspective, agreed with this.

The Berne officials, especially the upper echelons, were all monsters, not just one horseman, but an army of 10,000 or more. The living dolls and the small blue spider judged that they could handle the prince’s coalition even after exterminating the monsters.

As a result, the situation became a war picture out of the ordinary, with tens of thousands from the Demon King’s Army chasing a small number of Bernese troops.

While the generals of the confederation were disturbed by this unexpected movement, Christina secretly left Jogan Fortress and joined Dran and his men, leading the Berne army, and stayed with the army without returning to Berne.

In this situation, Christina could not sit back and relax in the rear of the army.

Dran and Dramina were not worried about her safety, but forbade Christina from fighting in the front lines, fearing that if she did, a bad custom might be born in which the lords of Berne themselves would go to the front and fight.

However, this time, because they were fighting Vengitta, who was obsessed with Christina, she convinced Dran to make an exception for her, as the lord, to fight in the front lines to maintain the situation, and she is participating in the battle.

Christina, who has awakened as a superhuman and now ranks among the strongest humanoid beings on the planet, wielding divine powers.

Even without Dreadnought, she was able to defeat Selina and Diadora, who did not use the power of the Ancient-Celestial Dragon, in battle.

While her friends at the Magic Academy were worried about her life and spirit, Christina was wielding her beloved sword Elsparda and Dreadnought, showing a fighting style that made the Bernese soldiers wonder if they were needed. She was fighting a battle that made the Bernese soldiers think they might not be needed.

「Cut it down, Elsparda!」

Responding to Christina’s call, the magic crystal inlaid in the handle emitted light, and Elsparda’s mithril blade was enveloped in a pale blue glow.

Surrounded by dolls of diverse professions and races, Christina, in her white armor and helmet reminiscent of a dragon with spread wings, stood alone. None of her allies were near her. The enemy, led by Vengitta, had her encircled many times over.

The Bernese army’s units, known for their magic-controlled armor, infantry, and golems, showed no signs of attempting a rescue.

Had they given up on rescuing Christina? No, there was simply no need.

Was Christina isolated? No, it was to avoid hindering her.

The pale trajectory formed a perfect circle. It was a swift slash from Elsparda. The attacking dwarves, elves, and insectoid dolls surrounding Christina were cleaved at their necks and torsos, falling where they stood.

Having experienced Christina’s exceptional combat abilities for days, Vengitta had switched all the dolls sent against her to warrior and martial types.

Each of these was comparable to a true master, but mere mastery was insufficient to even halt Christina’s advance.

「Hah, it seems they no longer intend to capture me alive.」

Around Christina, artillery fire from golems and mages in the rear mixed with counter-fire and explosions from Vengitta’s forces, creating a continuous barrage.

However, Christina’s muttering was answered by a shadow that swooped down from above.

「O beautiful one, I am a seeker of beauty, a fool ensnared by it. Yet, even I have comrades. I understand there are lines that must not be crossed.」

With a voice filled with various emotions, a massive spearhead lunged from the shadow, aiming for Christina’s face. Its size and the red-hot blade, heated by friction with the air, spoke of its incredible speed.

Christina effortlessly caught it with Elsparda, and though the shockwave blew apart the ground around her, she didn’t flinch.

「It seems you are far more loyal to your comrades than one would expect from the Demon King’s Army.」

Looking up at Vengitta, who had landed heavily, Christina spoke.

Vengitta, now in a centaur form with a robust horse’s lower body and a human upper body, was fully armored. Her magnificent form resembled a legendary centaur warrior rather than a mere doll.

「Therefore, I will pursue your beauty once I have your corpse.」

Ignoring Vengitta’s words and focusing on his tone, which sounded almost earnest, Christina seemed accustomed to such conversations after dealing with him over the past few days.

「Then, I must make an effort to slay all of you and ensure no remains cross my path by mistake! Can you defeat me with that centaur-shaped puppet!」

「This is one of thirteen battle-specialized bodies I created. It’s a trump card focusing more on martial pursuit than beauty. Remember it as Kygeron.」

「In that case, I shall slash all thirteen beyond repair!」

As Elsparda and the great spear parted, their fierce clash sent whirlwind-like shockwaves and gusts around them.

Slashing, mowing, thrusting, striking, crushing – every angle of attack from the great spear was repelled by the magic sword and the Ancient-Celestial Dragon Slayer’s blade. The centaur’s massive body, stomping and shattering the earth, was met with retaliatory strikes.

Such rapid exchanges of blows, dozens or even hundreds per second, could only be managed by superhumans or mythical beasts. That’s why Christina was rampaging on the front lines unaccompanied.

Yet, it would be wrong to say there was no support for Christina at all.

In the Bernese army’s rear, where turret and fort golems were positioned, stood Dramina, floating in the air with bat-like wings spread. Clad in full armor Siekreinas and the three-eyed circlet-type sacred weapon Garcion, Dramina held Valkyrios, a sacred weapon transformed into a bow, in her right hand.

Garcion, nullifying and absorbing any magic eye interference and enhancing Dramina’s natural magic eye abilities with clairvoyance, was a formidable asset.

Dramina, with four arrows between her fingers in her left hand, each transformed from Valkyrios like the bow, drew the string in a smooth motion.

「Let’s leave that doll to Christina. I’ll continue to fight in a way that doesn’t result in any casualties on our side.」

The Bernese army’s approach focused more on minimizing casualties among allies than on maximizing enemy losses.

Dramina, joining the front lines as Christina’s companion, followed suit, mainly using Garcion to enhance her vision for sniping with her bow and arrow. She occasionally sent covering arrows to Christina, but currently, they seemed unnecessary.

As a member of Bern, Dramina’s first priority was to aid Bernese soldiers in dire situations, but thanks to subtle rescues by Diadora and Dran and the soldiers’ bravery, such opportunities were scarce, which was fortunate.

However, this didn’t mean Dramina refrained from using her bow.

While the Bernese soldiers didn’t need help, Dramina was aiding the soldiers of the Lords’ Confederation, fighting against Quince’s dependents – the Giant and Small Spiders and some Vengitta dolls – on the opposite side of the Demon King’s Army.

「The kingdom’s soldiers are well-trained, despite being away from war for so long. But this time, they face a tough opponent. First, let’s save her.」

With her bowstring drawn to the limit, Dramina’s arrow, powered by a strength greater than ten thousand horses, shot through the air faster than lightning, striking at the frontlines of the Lords’ Confederation and the Demon King’s Army.

A young Catfolk female soldier, nearly decapitated by a purple giant spider’s biting fangs, felt the weight of the spider vanish as she instinctively closed her eyes.

Her allies’ voices ceased, and fearing something worse had happened, she opened her eyes to find only the remains of the giant spider, now missing everything but its swollen abdomen.

The confusion wasn’t just hers; her fellow soldiers were also clueless about what had happened. They hadn’t seen the arrow shot by the Vampire Queen from afar, piercing the spider’s head and blowing most of it away with its speed and power.

「W–w-w-whatttt!?」

Still not fully grasping her salvation, the soldier noticed spiders, both large and small, suddenly vanishing around her. She sat up, looking around half-crying.

For a while, she did this – her surroundings safe enough to allow it – and soon realized that only the terrifying spiders and dolls of the Demon King’s Army were being eliminated to protect them. She flopped her ears down and muttered in wonder.

「Are you… a god?」

Unbeknownst to her, Dramina, who had witnessed the soldier’s whisper, smiled with a hint of trouble.